Ferris battles, falls to No. 16 Hillsdale in season opener

Ferris State quarterback Tom Schneider drops back to pass on Friday night against Hillsdale College during a non-conference game to open the 2010 season at Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium in Hillsdale. (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

HILLSDALE - It was a game of chances for Ferris State University and the Bulldogs had more than a few opportunities but just couldn't capitalize nearly enough.

Playing
Hillsdale College, ranked 16th in the nation, looked every bit the part
of one of the better teams in Division II as it earned a 35-17 victory
over the Bulldogs before a good-sized crowd at Frank "Muddy" Waters
Stadium in Hillsdale. Ferris knew it was in for a tough game and
Hillsdale showed why with a strong effort from start to finish against
the visiting Bulldogs in the season opener - a non-conference affair.

"First of all, we're disappointed that we didn't get the win," Ferris head coach Jeff Pierce
said following the contest as his squad dropped to 0-1 on the season.
"We have to capitalize on some of those situations we found ourselves in
and the bottom line was that we didn't execute well enough at times."

Ferris added a couple of scores late in the showdown, but it was a contest controlled much of the night by the Chargers. Dwayne Williams had a 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter , at 12:30, and Mike Ryan had a 13-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Tom Schneider at the one-minute mark.

"We
did some nice things offensively, but we've got to be able to do the
things that sustain the drives like catch footballs and make the plays
in the red zone to keep us in ball games," Pierce said. "I take my hat
off to Hillsdale they're a very good football team."

Statistically,
however, Hillsdale (1-0) dominated the game from an offensive
standpoint. The Chargers racked up 453 yards of total offense to 269 for
the Bulldogs.

For HC, Andre Holmes had 10 catches for 132 yards
and a touchdown, Mike Blanchard had nine catches for 125 yards and a
touchdown while Joe Glendening rushed 19 times for 88 yards and a
touchdown. Troy Weatherhead completed 22-of-26 passes for 281 yards and
three touchdowns.

"We had a great camp and our kids have worked hard from the get go," Keith Otterbein,
the head coach of Hillsdale said. "Never once did our kids take for
granted that they were going to step up and play. I am really proud of
them and we had good efforts on both sides of the ball.

"Troy is a veteran leader and he played the way he is capable of playing."

The Bulldogs were led by Ryan, who had eight catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. Skyler Stoker had
43 yards rushing on 11 attempts and Schneider completed 21-of-34 passes
for 176 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Ferris suffered a
tough turnover as Schneider was picked off in the end zone early in the
game to halt a promising Bulldog drive.

"Now, we've got to take the next step with our football team to make the plays we need to make to win," Pierce said.

Antwian Windmon and Chad Wilson each had eight solo tackles while Tayo Moss had four to lead the Bulldog defense.

The
Bulldogs are back on the field in Big Rapids on Sept. 11 when it will
host nationally-ranked Saginaw Valley State University in Great Lakes
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action at Top Taggart Field